04 February 2013

Global opens UFL title defense vs Pasargad , Loyola battles Army

Karl Decena, InterAKTV

Defending champion Global FC opens its title defense against Pasargad FC when the United Football League opens Tuesday night at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
The match between Global and Pasargad is set at 7:30 p.m. after the tiff between the Loyola Meralco Sparks and Philippine Army at 5:15 p.m.
While considered as one of the favorites to win the League competition, Global will start the season without some of its players who are members of the national football team set to compete against Myanmar on Wednesday: Marvin and Marwin Angeles, Jeffrey Christiaens, Patrick Reichelt and Matthew Uy.
But Global is still expected to be competitive against Pasargad, with Izo Elhabib, Denis Wolf, among others, leading the team coached by highly-touted Scottish manager Brian Reid.
“We won the championship last year. It’s a new challenge”, Reid said.
Pasargad, meanwhile, will parade new local acquisitions Filipino-Belgian Angelo Marasigan and Filipino-American CD Harris while also leaning on a number of Iranian nationals who mostly comprise the squad.
Like Global, Loyola and Army will also miss the services of its stars who have been called up to the Azkals. Phil and James Younghusband and goalkeeper Ref Cuaresma will be absent for Loyola, while veterans Roel Gener, Boogie Margarse and Eduard Sacapaño won’t see action for the Army.
However, scoring is not expected to be a problem for the Sparks, with national team star Freddy Gonzalez and brothers Mark and Matt Hartmann anchoring the squad’s attack.
Army will rely on stalwarts Laurence Bedua, Ricardo Becite and Wilson Dela Cruz, among others, to carry their team.
The matches will be aired live on AKTV, with coverage starting at 5 p.m.